HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES H.C.R. NO. 113 THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2022 STATE OF HAWAII
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES H.C.R. NO. 113
THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2022
STATE OF HAWAII
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
H.C.R. NO.
113
THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2022
STATE OF HAWAII
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION requesting the governor and mayor of the city and county of honolulu to affirm the safe access oahu program will not be UNNECESSARILY extended beyond the march 5, 2022, sunset date.
HOUSE CONCURRENT
RESOLUTION
requesting the governor and mayor of the city and county of honolulu to affirm the safe access oahu program will not be UNNECESSARILY extended beyond the march 5, 2022, sunset date.
WHEREAS, on September 13, 2021, pursuant to Order No. 2021‑15, the Safe Access Oahu program went into effect in the City and County of Honolulu to mitigate the high rate of COVID‑19 Delta variant infections on Oahu; and WHEREAS, the Safe Access Oahu program requires all employees, contractors, and volunteers at businesses such as restaurants, bars, gyms, movie theaters, arcades, and other similar establishments to show proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 or a negative COVID-19 test result each week in order to operate; and WHEREAS, the Safe Access Oahu program also requires all customers, except those twelve years of age or younger, to show proof of full vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test taken within the previous forty-eight hours in order to enter the establishment; and WHEREAS, the Safe Access Oahu program was to remain in effect for sixty days and cease on November 13, 2021; and WHEREAS, on January 5, 2022, in response to the rise of infections from the Omicron variant of COVID-19, Mayor Rick Blangiardi issued Proclamation and Emergency Order No. 2022-01 (Order No. 2022-01), which retroactively extended the restrictions imposed by the Safe Access Oahu program through December 1, 2021; and WHEREAS, the restrictions imposed by the Safe Access Oahu program are to continue through the sixty-day emergency period established by Order No. 2022-01 that began on January 5, 2022; and WHEREAS, as of January 4, 2022, seventy-eight percent of the population of the City and County of Honolulu has received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine; and WHEREAS, small businesses have been one of the hardest-hit sectors amid the COVID-19 pandemic; and WHEREAS, the Safe Access Oahu program has negatively impacted Oahu's small businesses; and WHEREAS, a 2020 Yelp survey found that nine in every one thousand businesses in Hawaii have permanently closed, which is one of the highest rates in the United States, while in Honolulu, the figure was roughly eleven out of every one thousand businesses; and WHEREAS, hundreds of Hawaii businesses were on the brink of closure during the early days of the pandemic and faced further setbacks as the result of the rise in COVID-19 variant infections; and WHEREAS, the Safe Access Oahu program expired on March 5, 2022; and WHEREAS, however, repeated extensions and retroactive application of the Safe Access Oahu program created confusion and placed undue burdens on local enterprises; and WHEREAS, broad and indefinite extensions of emergency proclamations by the Mayor and Governor may be abused and can cause confusion and distrust amongst the public; now, therefore, BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2022, the Senate concurring, that the Governor and Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu are requested to affirm the Safe Access Oahu program will not be unnecessarily extended beyond the March 5, 2022, sunset date; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor and Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu. OFFERED BY: _____________________________ Report Title: Safe Access Oahu; Sunset Date; City and County of Honolulu
WHEREAS, on September 13, 2021, pursuant to Order No. 2021‑15, the Safe Access Oahu program went into effect in the City and County of Honolulu to mitigate the high rate of COVID‑19 Delta variant infections on Oahu; and
WHEREAS, the Safe Access Oahu program requires all employees, contractors, and volunteers at businesses such as restaurants, bars, gyms, movie theaters, arcades, and other similar establishments to show proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 or a negative COVID-19 test result each week in order to operate; and
WHEREAS, the Safe Access Oahu program also requires all customers, except those twelve years of age or younger, to show proof of full vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test taken within the previous forty-eight hours in order to enter the establishment; and
WHEREAS, the Safe Access Oahu program was to remain in effect for sixty days and cease on November 13, 2021; and
WHEREAS, on January 5, 2022, in response to the rise of infections from the Omicron variant of COVID-19, Mayor Rick Blangiardi issued Proclamation and Emergency Order No. 2022-01 (Order No. 2022-01), which retroactively extended the restrictions imposed by the Safe Access Oahu program through December 1, 2021; and
WHEREAS, the restrictions imposed by the Safe Access Oahu program are to continue through the sixty-day emergency period established by Order No. 2022-01 that began on January 5, 2022; and
WHEREAS, as of January 4, 2022, seventy-eight percent of the population of the City and County of Honolulu has received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine; and
WHEREAS, small businesses have been one of the hardest-hit sectors amid the COVID-19 pandemic; and
WHEREAS, the Safe Access Oahu program has negatively impacted Oahu's small businesses; and
WHEREAS, a 2020 Yelp survey found that nine in every one thousand businesses in Hawaii have permanently closed, which is one of the highest rates in the United States, while in Honolulu, the figure was roughly eleven out of every one thousand businesses; and
WHEREAS, hundreds of Hawaii businesses were on the brink of closure during the early days of the pandemic and faced further setbacks as the result of the rise in COVID-19 variant infections; and
WHEREAS, the Safe Access Oahu program expired on March 5, 2022; and
WHEREAS, however, repeated extensions and retroactive application of the Safe Access Oahu program created confusion and placed undue burdens on local enterprises; and
WHEREAS, broad and indefinite extensions of emergency proclamations by the Mayor and Governor may be abused and can cause confusion and distrust amongst the public; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2022, the Senate concurring, that the Governor and Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu are requested to affirm the Safe Access Oahu program will not be unnecessarily extended beyond the March 5, 2022, sunset date; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor and Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu.
OFFERED BY: _____________________________
OFFERED BY:
_____________________________
Report Title:
Safe Access Oahu; Sunset Date; City and County of Honolulu